After three days of hostilities, India and Pakistan reached an “understanding” to stop all “military action” yesterday (10 May), effective 5 p.m. IST, as both countries announced yesterday — as did US president Donald Trump.

India's official statement was categorical that this "understanding" was a result of bilateral talks, with no third-party involvement, contrary to the POTUS' claims.

Also, while Washington indicated upcoming India–Pakistan talks on wider issues, India denied this. We also noted that decisions such as the abeyance of the Indus Water Treaty stay in place until further talks on 12 May, Monday.

However, within a couple of hours of the ceasefire deadline, with withdrawal of blackout orders in India and full opening of airspace by, there were reports of drone incursions along the border, in particular Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, resulting in reestablishment of precautionary orders.

The defence ministry in a late-night press briefing: “We call upon Pakistan to take appropriate steps to stop these violations and deal with the situation with seriousness and responsibility.”

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has spoken with India's national security advisory Ajit Doval to express his hope that New Delhi and Islamabad would address their differences through dialogue and achieve a lasting ceasefire.

Doval has told China that war was not India's choice, but India needed to take counter-terrorism action after the Pahalgam attack, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Wang also condemned the 22 April terror attack in Pahalgam, which had cross-border linkages and triggered the worst fighting between India and Pakistan in years.

Wang has also spoken to Pakistan's deputy prime minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, per the Xinhua reports.

Wang said China supports and expects India and Pakistan to achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire through consultation, which is in the fundamental interest of the two countries and meets the common aspiration of the international community.

He added that China opposes all forms of terrorism.

Noting that the world is undergoing both transformation and upheaval, Wang said peace and stability in Asia are hard-won and deserve to be cherished. India and Pakistan are neighbours that cannot be moved away and they are both neighbours of China, he noted.

Doval in turn underlined the serious casualties on the Indian side and the need for its counter-terrorism actions. Agreeing that war is not in the interest of either side, Doval hoped that both India and Pakistan could remain committed to the ceasefire.

Wang said China believes that Pakistan will make decisions in line with its fundamental and long-term interests too.

Reportedly, in conversation with Dar, Wang said China supports Pakistan's continued 'firm' counterterrorism efforts.